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Who we are

The Committee on Design (COD) was founded to promote design excellence among members of the AIA, the broader design community, and the public at large, both nationally and internationally.

2024 COD Conferences

Arkansas

April 3-7 | 21c Hotel | Bentonville and Eureka Springs - Registration is sold out.

Brazil

Thu, Oct 17 - Sat, Oct 26, 2024
Sao Paulo > Brasilia > Rio de Janerio.  Registration will open in late April.

2024 Sponsorships

Download the prospectus for Arkansas and Brazil opportunities.


2023 COD Conferences

Last year, COD held two domestic design conferences investigating The Authenticity of Place.  The first conference was held in New Orleans, LA.  View the short video of the venue tours and download the conference program book. The second conference was held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, September 21-24, 2023. Download the Minneapolis guidebook and view the conference video

  • 1.  Being an Architect: Lessons From Past Work

    Posted 01-10-2022 09:58 AM

    Being Architect: Lessons from the Past (1) 

     This is the first of a planned series on which of my past projects still have relevance 

    There was the green roof, there are the beechwood clad partitions and hallway walls, the mobile partitions, the integrated art, the underground parking garage, the saved tree close to the building, the urban infill between historic homes, the elevator for accessibility, the integration of an urban green space. There was "design assist" for the facades and an envelope consultant who did quality control of our detailing. Ah yes, and all that very contemporary sounding stuff was "fast tracked" in spite of production via the age old techniques of T-squares, ink on vellum and freehand renderings. All this is something that happened some 40 years ago.

    Front of the school facing Bismarck Strasse (School website)

    The architectural project with all these features came to my mind when I was wondering which of the projects I have under my belt as an architect could still resonate with the students that I, at times, try to teach one thing or another. The project I now remembered had made a lasting impression on me since it was my first assignment when my then prolific boss, Heinz Egenhofer hired me  for my first job out of architecture school. I was supposed to manage this project. My sparse expertise from five years of studies had already faded some during 18 months of the then in Germany mandatory civil service (in lieu of military service) and a stint in the London planning department. That is to say, I was in way over my head. To be a teaching moment, the 41 years old project must be memorable for more than.......
    READ FULL ARTICLE



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    [Klaus] Philipsen FAIA
    Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
    Baltimore MD
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    2024 HRC Taliesin West


  • 2.  RE: Being an Architect: Lessons From Past Work

    Posted 01-11-2022 06:16 PM
    Very impressive - particularly with the current (and masked) views.

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    Andrew Akard AIA
    Akard Architecture llc
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    2024 HRC Taliesin West


  • 3.  RE: Being an Architect: Lessons From Past Work

    Posted 01-12-2022 10:22 AM
    What a great building from the '70's and a great article...!

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    Nelson B. Nave AIA
    Nelson Breech Nave, AIA Architect
    Kalamazoo MI
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    2024 HRC Taliesin West